Closing in on all-time lottery record
By Todd Northrop
Only once before has the United States — or the world — witnessed a lottery-buying frenzy like we are seeing this week.
That was in March, 2012, when the multi-state Mega Millions game was busy setting a record for the largest jackpot in world history.
This time it's Powerball's turn to make people stop what they're doing and line up for lottery tickets.
Powerball tickets are being bought at such a rapid pace that the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which operates the Powerball game, has raised the jackpot estimate for a second time in two days.
Who knows, it may even get raised again Saturday before the drawing.
Early Thursday morning, around 12:30 am Eastern Time, USA Mega announced the new record Powerball jackpot of $475 million after nobody won in the Wednesday evening drawing.
Twelve hours later, the jackpot estimate was raised to $550 million. (See $550 MILLION: Powerball jackpot now more than a half-billion dollars, Lottery Post, May 16, 2013.)
Now, one day later, the official jackpot estimate has been raised yet again — to $600 million — with one more full day of sales to go before the big drawing.
The only question left is whether or not this Powerball juggernaut will set the all-time lottery jackpot record, eclipsing the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot set on March 30, 2012.
The cash value for Saturday's drawing now stands at a jaw-dropping $376.9 million. Surprisingly, the cash value is still the third-largest amount in history, even though the annuity estimate is now the second-largest on record. (The updated list of top annuity and cash jackpots can be found below.)
The rush of people trying to check their numbers on the Internet tomorrow night will likely have most Web sites swamped. Players are encouraged to check their numbers at USA Mega (www.usamega.com), which tends to survive incredible traffic volumes better than most state lottery Web sites.
"Players checking online should hang in there and refresh their Web browser every so often until they get through to the site," said Todd Northrop, founder of Lottery Post and USA Mega. "The rush of traffic happens right at 11:00 pm Eastern Time, so waiting a half hour or so before checking the numbers will probably be easiest."
In the meantime, lottery players dreaming about what $600 million means to them after taxes have been withheld can check USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis page, which provides the information for each individual state.
Powerball features nine different prize levels, ranging from $4 all the way up to the jackpot. Players can win even if they just match one number — the Powerball number.
States also offer the Power Play option for an extra dollar per ticket purchased. The Power Play multiplies any non-jackpot prizes won by a fixed amount, depending on the prize level won.
Players who purchase the Power Play and win second prize will automatically have their prize increased by 2x to $2 million.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Saturday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 2rd-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States. The amount of the jackpot may rise before the drawing Saturday night, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and current sales frenzy may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.
If nobody wins Saturday, it's anyone's guess how high it will go.
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $600 million, May 18, 2013 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
- Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
- Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
- The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
- Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
- Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan
- Powerball: $336.4 million, Feb. 11, 2012 - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009 - California, New York
- The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002 - Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $330 million, Aug. 31, 2007 - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
- Mega Millions: $319 million, Mar. 25, 2011 - New York
- Mega Millions: $315 million, Nov. 15, 2005 - California
- Powerball: $314.9 million, Dec. 26, 2002 - West Virgina
- Powerball: $314.3 million, Aug. 25, 2007 - Indiana
- Powerball: $295.7 million, Jul. 29, 1998 - Indiana
- Powerball: $295 million, Aug. 25, 2001 - Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $294 million, Jul. 2, 2004 - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $276.3 million, Mar. 15, 2008 - West Virgina
- Mega Millions: $275 million, Feb. 22, 2008 - Georgia
- Mega Millions: $270 million, Feb. 28, 2006 - Ohio
- Mega Millions: $266 million, May 4, 2010 - California
For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Mega Millions: 11
- Powerball: 12
- The Big Game: 2
The Big Game is the original name of Mega Millions, from the game's first drawing on Sep. 6, 1996 through May 14, 2002. The name was changed to Mega Millions starting with the May 17, 2002 drawing.
Top 20 cash value jackpots
Since many lottery winners collect their winnings in cash, the lump-sum payout is an important measure of what a winning ticket could be worth. The upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 3rd-highest ever in the United States.
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $376.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($600 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
- Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
- Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
- Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
- Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
- Mega Millions: $194.4. million cash, Aug. 31, 2007 ($330 million annuity) - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
- Mega Millions: $185 million cash, Nov. 15, 2005 ($315 million annuity) - California
- The Big Game: $180 million cash, May 9, 2000 ($363 million annuity) - Illinois, Michigan
- Powerball: $177.3 million cash, Feb. 18, 2006 ($365 million annuity) - Nebraska
- Mega Millions: $168 million cash, July 2, 2004 ($294 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $167.7 million cash, Feb. 22, 2008 ($275 million annuity) - Georgia
- Powerball: $166 million cash, Aug. 25, 2001 ($295 million annuity) - Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $165.2 million cash, May 4, 2010 ($266 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $164.4 million cash, won Oct. 19, 2005 ($340 million annuity) - Oregon
- Mega Millions: $164 million cash, Feb. 28, 2006 ($270 million annuity) - Ohio
$2 and a dream baby! I'm glad I got my tickets already, the lines at the store on Saturday are going to be looonnnng.
Yep- this is all Californians doing, to think otherwise is foolishness. Three Cheers for California.
I say 650 on sat. They are saying it passed 600 already.
I say $700 mil RedStang by spinning time.
ya'll excited for the 190M mega millions tonight? lol
How about $657 million just to beat the all time annuity record?
That would mean about 150 mill tickets sold. Pretty wild.
I just purchased my one ticket, good luck everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
People that dont normally play the lottery will be coming out the woodworks to play in worlds biggest lottery jackpot. I wouldnt be surprised if it reaches a little more than $700 million. And if by an act of god no one wins, expect a jackpot of at least 1.5 billions.
I want it all. All for me!!!
Definitely excited for both games! First time in history both jackpots combined have been close to $800M :)
I agree, I think it'll be at $700M or close to it by tomorrow night. I think people will be borrowing money and clearing out their checking accounts to buy as many tickets as they can. Seems it's jumping ~$100M per day, so why not $700 tomorrow night, unless everyone is broke by tomorrow. Which is possible at this rate of ticket sales.
I don't know what will happen if it rolls over. People will lose their minds.
old record Powerball: $384.7 million cash vs current Powerball: $376.9 million cash
ya i think we beat cash wise by draw time of old PB record
we did start higher then that old jackpot ,and have ca now, so i knew we have new PB record
but nonething going to touch the $471 million cash MM record
if 1 ticket wins, am going to rofl at media witch hunt, as they all camp out for lottery to show up
they better know how to hide via trust or something,
also 1 billion plus jackpot easy if it rolls"small chance with these sells"
lotteries are loving this , making them a killing
about time todd lol
Oopsie Daisy
Ima gonna win about $230 million in the bank after 39% in Federal Taxes. Woo Hoo, no State or Local Taxes here in PA on Lottery winnings!
Good luck LP friends!
Woo Hoo
That was uncalled for don't you think
Todd works really hard on this site and USA Mega cut him some slack.
Actually I am!! I would be very happy to win the mega millions!!
Heck Yeah, shoot I'll take $1 million even $250,000
no i was just saying good job todd lol i have been here longer
Alright my turn.
So far I have 14 tickets for which I only paid $3.00. Think work pool.
I am thinking of buying 2 for myself with powerplay and wait for the draw.
Good luck people.
I hope you have the winning ticket for tonight's mega millions and I hope I have the winning ticket for tomorrow night's powerball. That would be sweet.
Oh Lord, Have Mercy....!
The PB annuity value will have to exceed $750 million if it wants to break the cash value that MM has at $471 million.
Lottery insanity rules.
Bought some tickets today and had an interesting thing... Here in Texas you have to choose whether you want cash or annuity at purchase. Cash always for me. Anyway, this is what tickets look like normally:
Just before that, at a different location, my ticket printed like this:
It is nice that us folks here in Florida can now participate in the MM without having to drive to Georgia.
okay...hear that everyone? Buy more Powerball tickets now!
Just kidding, buy as many tickets as you are comfortable with. no more no less.
This is unbelievable .....just found out it's up to $600 million , what a surprise .
I checked my state and I'm ready to win over $260 million dollars .......
Wish I could play, hope you all win.
We also have to make the choice at purchase,
easy decision, cash, always.
I would take cash at purchase also.
hmm.... as i read the article i note:
"In the meantime, lottery players dreaming about what $640 million means to them after taxes have been withheld can check USA Mega'sJackpot Analysis page, which provides the information for each individual state."
640... and Todd... you trying to tell us something here?
GO POWERBALL!!!
Is it $640 mil ?
This is by far the largest Powerball Jackpot in their history. The world record jackpot was Mega Millions at $656 million shared by 3 winning tickets.
The first drawing sequence that Powerball has in California and the jackpot grows from what, 50 million to 600 million? How convenient. How timely.
/rolleyes
The Federal tax obligation alone is almost $150 million! some folks out there will still think that is not enough of their fair share.
Our beloved Government will burn through that amount in 20 minutes.
Jesus first called them hypocrites, and then asked one of them to produce a Roman coin that would be suitable for paying Caesar's tax. One of them showed him a Roman coin, and he asked them whose name and inscription were on it. They answered, "Caesar's," and he responded:"Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's".
Closer to 2 minutes I'd say.
As Ridge would say that's mighty kindly of you whiteballz
Hi Todd-
You do an outstanding job running this site. Especially in times like these. So, I dont want anyone to go over the stupid mountain, and think Im criticizing you. But there is a typo in the article. See quote below:"In the meantime, lottery players dreaming about what $640 million means to them after taxes have been withheld can check USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis page, which provides the information for each individual state.
Keep up the great work.
Lol! with the current Federal budget at close to 4 trillion. Our Government spends about $450 million per hour
Cause I earned that $376.9 million dammit!
How do you know the number of tickets? I've been wondering what percentage of sales goes back into the pot.
http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/econ/lottery-payouts-and-state-revenue.aspx
Sales are available at
http://<snip>/powerballsales.htm
Now what the chances the Powerball will roll again now?
At least below 20%
Love that people can put little sayings under their posts. You can really see who the mentally ill on here are.
Ok still a chance it can roll.
How many days old tickets win? It's always the ticket the person bought on game day. It's extremely hard to win the lottery, but most winners are sold on the day of the drawing.
That's because most people rush to buy tickets on the last day, so most tickets are sold on the last day.
It was a typo. I'm glad you found it, but probably best just to send me a quick note.
Please just send me a note if you find a typo - thanks.
Spot on. Many of the lotto retailers down here near I-45 and the major streets in the Houston area get absolutely packed with customers the evening of the draw.
Got my tickets
Trolling again, Venom? Not getting enough attention?
Take a deep breath and play responsibly!
Definitely getting mine tonight. :) I've seen the lotto machines go down due to network issues before a big jackpot.
Everyone who wins the lotto seemingly has this amazing story. The public bus broke down in front of a corner store and they went in to get a bottled water, and the change they had left was exactly enough to buy a ticket for the lotto they wouldn't have otherwise played if the bus hadn't broke down. It was also their first time playing, and someone cut in front of them in line and got a ticket, so if that didn't happen they wouldn't have won.
Stuff like that.
I was thinking, well, maybe that's the kind of story I'll tell them when I win, but I never win to even get the chance. I'm starting to think I have to actually live that story for me to win, roleplay style. I'm going to concoct some ridiculous story and roleplay it right into a corner store where I'll get the winning ticket.
No role playing for me. I'm claiming anonymously.
bummer... I thought you were giving us a hint... :)
I can't understand cleaning out a savings account to buy that many tickets. I have 4 that's plenty for me.
Sorry, I ment to include a "LOL"
on my reply to you.
$650 million PowerBall jackpot! I'm ready for it. Bring it on!
OK all I have to do is to win Powerball and Mega = $790 mil. I will start working on my magic numbers :D
I got mine too.
Guy in line two places ahead of me: $200 on Powerball, $100 on Mega.
Heard on the news that if no one wins tomorrow, it'll go up at least to 935 million dollars.
I think given the rapid sales, it is likely that all possible number combinations will have been sold thus guaranteering that it will hit tomorrow.
Of course I would love to hit the jackpot, but if I don't then i would love to see the worlds first billion dollar jackpot.
i needed to catch a bus, so asked for 1 ticket, the clerk thought i meant lotto, said i have to buy it now as they cant be cancelled, and what do you know! I won. I NEVER buy lotto, it breeds indolence.
I have the golden ticket in my shoebox...
Congrats goose! Was it the jackpot?
You're my girl!
Sho you right!
It's gonna be really difficult to get some sleep tonight...
I wish there was a way to find out the combos that have not been played yet so that I can play some of them
Cash .............in my state is says .......payout $263,815,000 Does that mean how much
a person will recieve ? Do they give you a small check when you turn in your ticket ?
How long does it take ? What is the procedure ? thank you
Hi brees. I don't know what state you're in so I'll tell you the best way to figure it out.
The money you receive from a jackpot payment, isn't entirely yours. They take 25% of federal taxes right away, but what you'll really owe is a total of 39.6%, so it's best to calculate what that extra 14.6% is, subtract that amount, put it aside as you'll owe it later. If you're in a state that doesn't tax you, then the 39.6% is all the taxes you'll owe on the jackpot.
Once they've verified your information, they'll deposit the funds in an account you provide or forward you a physical check (do they still send physical JP checks?) that takes about 3 weeks or so to hit your account.
If you need money to tide you over until then, you can get a loan against the jp, either before or after you come forward. It's best to get the loan ahead of time, IMO.
"why not $700 tomorrow night"
The increase in what they advertise doesn't mean they've actually sold those tickets already. It only means the sales so far have let them make a more accurate estimate. I'm guessing they also deliberately lowball it a bit when it gets to this level, so they can generate even more hype when they do bump up the total.
Figuring they knew the original estmate was low, we've seen an increase of $75 million followed by an increase of $50 million. I'd bet on an increase to $625 by early afternoon, followed by a modest adjustment at drawing time.
It's virtually impossible to sell all of the possible combinations. Once they've sold 90% there's only 1 unused combination for every 10 tickets sold. At the very end, when there's only 1 unused combination left there's only a 1 in 175 million chance it wil turn up each time another ticket is sold. That means that we should expect that finally using that single combination would require selling 175 million tickets.
Assuming the final tally is about $650 milion they will have sold about 300 million tickets. That will use about 75% of the combinations, and a 25% chance of another roll.
Every time there is a Hugh JP the media interviews Richard Lustig and he gives the same old advice. I don't think he ever won a huge MM or PB jackpot, but hell he's lucky than most. My mother bought a ticket yesterday, but I'm going to buy one today. If we win I will definitely have a Joker smile for life.
Have you noticed just how little media attention is with the 600 million dollars jackpot? The attention is a far cry from 656 million MM jackpot last year.
Moreover, there was no line when I bought a ticket in my location today.
I have a feeling that once a record jackpot was reached, it would take another record to get media attention. If the jackpot rolls over and reaches 1 billion dollars, then the media would be all over it.
That guy is nothing but a modern day snake oil salesman. System my a(s)s. If his system was all that effective he'd have won more than $1M by now and disclose how much he spends on tickets. His number of wins isn't that impressive to me without knowing the stats. Fine, he won 7 times, how much did he spend to get that? Especially since so many of the wins are $25k. And why hasn't he won any more since. He's been at 7 wins for years now.
What he's really selling is his book, not useful information. His book is where he's making the money. Someone may sue him soon because I have yet to read of any winner thanking him for helping them win.
One of the most stupid advice he gave was that you have more chance to win if you pick your own numbers instead of Quick Pick. Every possible combination has equal chance of winning, regardless how you pick it.
I have a feeling that now that the MM JP got claimed, more people will be focused on PB tomorrow. But you're right, seems there was more media interest for last year's $587 PB than there is now.
That'll be good for anyone who wins tomorrow.
You kidding? It was on CNBC every hour during the day and ABC national news for sure when I was watching. Then I know based on Google News it's a headline, in addition to each of the local news stations youtube segments posted under that headline.
Last year, the lottery jackpots were the leading stories on AOL, MSN and Yahoo. Last night I had to go looking for it. It wasn't even one of the top trending stories on Yahoo much less a news story. They started showing more interest today, but Beyonce's possible pregnancy, Maria Carey's lip synching, and Kim Kardashian's swollen feet were apparently much more important. It seems really odd compared to how it was last year
Those are the ones that makes the jackpot rolling. Gotta thank them when you win.
as jackpots of this size happens more and more, the frenzy dies down. When we see 3 bil, 5 bil jackpots, most people won't bat an eye on the little 600m
jackpots anymore.
"When we see 3 bil, 5 bil jackpots, most people won't bat an eye on the little 600m jackpots anymore."
I don't see 3 or 5 billion dollar jackpots with tickets at $2 each and this current 5/59 + 1/35 matrix.
Congrats to the MegaMillions winners, go collect quick, no ones looking lol
true dat.
Maybe not. But I don't think people would be much more excited if MM reached 1 billion rather than powerball.
So if a game was changed to say $3 and 7/59 or something, people would still be excited about a billion jackpot for the first few times, until it becomes
common. Even if the games don't change, and 600M jackpots happen more often, while reaching 1 bil occasionally, people will stop caring about 600M
jackpots. It'll become kind of like 275M jackpots these days. At that point, since not so many people will buy tickets for that one draw, it's more likely
to roll over.
I don’t know if we’ll see $700 million tonight but I think PB will break the current annuity record set by mega millions at $656 million.
Yes, I don't see it not surpassing $656M, especially with the MM gone. Such a pity their cash option is so much less than MM. We might have had 2 records broken.
It would be great to have both the annuity and lump sum record broken tonight. I'm going to get a few more tickets today to help the cause.
Teddi ..............Thank you ..........
1. I read in the past ....."Certain States wins more WHY ? EXAMPLE , Va , SC , NJ , NY , PA , Calif ???
2. Just wondering why ? MM 2 person's won on the East Coast ......
3. Read to These Games are Rigged true / false ? ........